


By Chrome And Moonlight

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/F, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 08:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15457092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: Sae and Mitsuru work on a case about Shadows together, but the last thing either wants is for it to come to an end.





	By Chrome And Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Commissioned by rizzles-me-this!

It was supposed to be a case, and not a date.

Sae kept telling herself that as she walked out of the police station with Mitsuru, motorcycle helmet tucked under the arm closest to the other woman so she could resist the urge to take her hand. The last several weeks had broadened Sae's horizons farther than she ever thought possible; she already knew about the Metaverse in broad strokes, glimmerings of cognitive psience gleaned to pressure those in the government who wanted to keep tabs on Akira after he was finally freed, but Mitsuru possessed all that knowledge and more. The Kirijo Group could rule the world, Sae thought, even if it wasn't the world everyone else might have in mind.

Her work was different now; a liberator, not the dog on the end of the law's leash, jaw snapping tight around those who stepped outside its bounds. Mitsuru's job was similar, cutting the ties of Shadows off those caught in psychological and spiritual torment. The surprise was in how many ways their efforts crossed over, and how well the two of them got along. Sae rarely had the privilege of working with other women in the prosecutor's office; she was their singular, convenient prodigy back then, and a magnet for blame when mistakes needed a name to print.

That alone wasn't enough to explain her attraction to Mitsuru--and that it was, in fact, attraction. Being around someone so powerful and confident had an intoxicating edge, to be sure, but Mitsuru _listened_ to her. They meshed well even in tense moments, and more than once, Sae had earned the pleasure of the older woman's dry but authentic laugh. Yet it had been a series of coincidences that lead to them working together in the first place. No formal agreement was made, no promises for the future.

Her chest ached.

"Sae," Mitsuru's voice, smooth as silk, interrupted her fractured musings and wove the present back together. "Are you alright?"

She blinked, coming to the realization that she had been standing stone still between their two motorcycles and staring off into the distance. "Sorry. It's been a long night."

"I forget not everyone is used to twenty-five hour days." Dropping to one knee, Mitsuru fetched her own helmet out of the saddlebag attached to the bike, brushing a mote of dust off the visor. "Go home. Get some sleep."

Going home meant going back to a cold, solitary bed in a relentlessly quiet apartment. Makoto was in college now, rocketing to the top of her introductory exam boards. Pride filled Sae every time she received an email or text from her sister, but it served as another reminder of their separation, and just how accustomed she'd become to sharing every part of her life with Makoto. The independence that taunted her in her teens was now in hand, and it was more lonely than Sae had ever imagined.

"Am I going to see you again?" The words slipped out of Sae's mouth before she could stop them; she had to say _something_ , cast out a light before the darkness split them in two forever.

Mitsuru smiled. It wasn't the polite, refined smile she called up around would-be allies and bureaucratic red tape, but a real one, showing teeth and making the wine-red of her eyes shine. "I hope so. We did good work together, didn't we?"

Sae nodded, and her attention flickered to Mitsuru's lips for all of a second. If she wasn't a coward, she would make a move, express her feelings instead of burying them, because condemning emotion to the grave had made her a monster with a Palace and--

Mitsuru's mouth was a gentle, calming warmth against her own. Soft, wanting but waiting, waiting to see if the affection would be returned. Shock stilled Sae longer than she wanted it to, but a thread of desperation bid her to act, and fast. She returned the kiss with a choked sound in her throat, one hand grasping at Mitsuru's shoulder like it was the only thing keeping them anchored together.

One kiss melted into another, brief breaks for breath ended with the hot swipe of Mitsuru's tongue, the yearning edge of Sae's teeth. For a moment, she wasn't sure it would ever end, not until Mitsuru pulled away, face flushed and eyes dark.

"It's getting late," she said softly.

There was hesitation in those words, and Sae found them difficult to swallow. Was that Mitsuru's way of saying the kiss was a mistake? "Right. I'll let you get home."

"Sae." That smile rose again, brighter than ever. "I just meant we shouldn't be out here in the middle of the night, where everyone can see us."

"Oh." Now it was Sae's turn to smile, a slightly embarrassed laugh escaping her lips. "Does that mean your place or mine?"

"Mine, I think." Mitsuru took a step back, tucking her hair up into a loose knot so she could slip her helmet on. Even with the visor blocking the older woman's face, Sae sensed a smile. "Depends on how good you are at following directions."

Sae donned her helmet too, its dark mask enough to conceal a rising blush. "Fair enough."

Their engines revved in echo of each other, and Mitsuru took off like a shot, skirting the edge of the speed limit down the dark curve of the street. Sae chased after, eyes locked on the streak of white and silver ahead.

She'd always been excellent at following directions.


End file.
